Answering today’s questions: how should physicians respond during covid19?
Dr. Pariksith Singh is the guest on Kunal Jain’s show today. Listen as he shares amazing wisdom on how to handle your patients during this pandemic, as well as, insight from treating his first Covid-19 positive patient.
How are you handling the coronavirus crisis at your physician practice?
Dr. Pariksith Singh recommends these five steps to ensure your patients are okay and that your staff stays safe –
Warm touch – Get on the phone and call each of your patients personally.
Dispell misinformation – Ensure that your patient community is well-informed about the coronavirus ( safety measures and symptoms).
Be accessible – Your patients need someone right now that they can trust; respond to your patient queries whether they reach you by phone or social media.
Take ownership – If you have a COVID-19 positive patient, reach out to all those that person may have been in contact with to check if they are showing any symptoms. Report the matter immediately to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Have a telemedicine implementation strategy – Telemedicine is a new reality, so move the bulk of your daily consultations to telehealth. ‘Risk-stratify’ your patients to schedule in-person visits. For instance, identify the 5 to 10 percent chronic illness patients that will have to be seen in-person regularly. About 20 to 30 percent of your patients who are at risk of developing a chronic illness can be seen in-person once every few months. And the remaining 60 to 70 percent you could schedule once a year for in-person visits.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in shifting to telemedicine?
A. Mindset-resistance – Patients reluctant to consult physicians via video.
B. Billing – Lack of clarity on reimbursements of telehealth calls.
C. Tech issues – The telehealth apps are not easy to install and use.
U.S. physicians and healthcare staff are in the frontline in the war against coronavirus. But it’s not just the threat of the virus – revenues of physician practices have been hit badly. To stay in business and serve their patients, physicians and hospitals must evolve rapidly by shifting the bulk of their consultations to telehealth.
PracticeForces is a frontier medical billing company in Florida.
We have partnered with AdvancedMD and eClinicalWorks, both of which offer telemedicine services.
If you would like to implement telemedicine services for your practice, we would be happy to help.
Contact us today for a FREE-consult.
